Bed Bath & Beyond to close five suburban stores
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As Bed Bath & Beyond continues to struggle, the company announced 87 more closures this week – including a few in the Chicago area.
The locations at the Chicago Ridge Mall at 9650 S. Ridgeland Ave. in Chicago Ridge, 5786 Northwest Hwy. in Crystal Lake, 215 Harlem Ave. in Forest Park, the Randall Square Shopping Center at 1584 S. Randall Rd. in Geneva, and Edens Plaza at 3232 Lake Ave. in Wilmette, are all set to close.
These closures are in addition to the 150 already announced back in August.
Bed Bath & Beyond will retain one location in the city of Chicago – at Clybourn Place at 1800 N. Clybourn Ave. In the greater Chicago area, locations will also remain in operation in Skokie; Deerfield; Willowbrook; Downers Grove; Vernon Hills; Kildeer; Naperville; Frankfort; Schererville, Indiana; Valparaiso, Indiana; and Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Bed Bath & Beyond is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy soon as it struggles to raise capital to reorganize its business. Last month, Bed Bath & Beyond defaulted on its loans and said it couldn't afford to repay its debt.
The home goods chain disclosed the default in a securities filing and indicated that it was considering restructuring its debt in bankruptcy court.
The company had already warned there was "substantial doubt" it could stay in business.
The former retail powerhouse has struggled for three key reasons, according to experts.
For one, it was slow to embrace the internet and e-commerce. Former chief executive officer Mark Tritton also spent $625 million buying back company shares, which ultimately led vendors to scale back their business with the retailer. In a third misstep, the retailer tried selling a variety of private-label products but they were low quality and didn't attract buyers.